"How is this possible!"
Ivan's face was ashen.
What exactly had happened?
While he was rambling on, Jiang Jie had already charged at him and, before he could react, pressed a dagger against his neck!
"You... Nicholas! Teacher Roand hasn't called for us to start yet! You broke the rules! You're shameless, vulgar, filthy, and despicable! You have no chivalry! You don't deserve to be a rogue!" Ivan hurled abuse at him.
"Sorry, but we're not knights. We're rogues."
Jiang Jie sneered, a trace of cold pity appearing on his face. "The fight began the moment Roand tossed us the daggers! In a rogue's world, there's no justice! No preparation! No fair duels! You... lost! If this were a real fight, you'd... already be dead!"
He had lost!
Ivan had lost!
His expression was utterly ugly. He had practiced day and night for three days and spent a fortune hiring a beginner rogue as a sparring partner, all to defeat Nicholas today and reclaim the title of greatest genius!
Yet he had lost, without even making a move!
He couldn't accept it. Not in the slightest!
"Nicholas!" he shouted, suddenly throwing away his wooden daggers, picking up his pair of excellent-quality, hundred-fold-forged daggers, and charging at Jiang Jie.
His opening move was a rogue's signature skill:
Sinister Strike!
It was incredibly fast!
It had to be said that Ivan really was a talented rogue. His physical fitness was also considerably better than Jiang Jie's, and his attacks were swift.
The pair of excellent-quality daggers were like two venomous snakes baring their fangs. He was going for Jiang Jie's life! Without the slightest mercy!
It happened so suddenly that even Roand had no time to react.
Of course, he had no intention of stopping it either. A faint smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.
Because, just as Jiang Jie had said, rogues were not knights. They had no such plethora of rules and restrictions. Even victory was not the standard by which they were judged. Their sole goal was to accomplish their objective!
As long as they could accomplish their objective, any rule could be challenged, any law trampled!
Of course, Roand was unwilling to let either of these two geniuses die in a minor test, so the moment Ivan picked up his daggers, he was ready to intervene at any time.
It was merely a fight between two rogue apprentices. He could stop it at any moment, or at least keep them from dying.
Jiang Jie reacted swiftly.
After hundreds of fights in the Child Hall, his reflexes were definitely better than those of most rogues in this world. The moment Ivan attacked, he had already made his move.
In a fleeting instant, the two wooden daggers blocked Ivan's hundred-fold-forged daggers.
"Parry!"
But a splintering sound followed. The two wooden daggers were made of ordinary material and could not withstand the hundred-fold-forged daggers produced by a dwarven smith in Ironforge. They were soon cut through.
Jiang Jie was in grave danger!
At that moment, Roand was ready to intervene.
Yet in the next instant, Jiang Jie abruptly twisted aside, avoiding Ivan's attack. His hands blocked and guided, using his opponent's force against him and dissipating Ivan's speed and strength into nothing. Then his hands shifted across each other, seizing the blades barehanded!
This was Taijiquan!
Although Jiang Jie was not yet sufficiently practiced in using it, it was enough to deal with Ivan!
Immediately afterward, he swung the hundred-fold-forged daggers, stabbing at Ivan in an instant.
"Sinister Strike!"
This time, Jiang Jie did not hold back.
Since Ivan truly wanted to kill him, there was no need for him to hold back. Even if he killed Ivan, no one could say anything. It wasn't his fault.
Bang!
Suddenly, a figure rushed to Jiang Jie's side. Before he could react, the daggers in his hands were gone and had fallen into the other person's hands.
"Disarm!"
It was a classic rogue skill. Jiang Jie recognized it instantly, and also recognized the person who had intervened:
"Roand!"
Jiang Jie hurriedly retreated a few steps, feeling regret.
Now that Roand had intervened, killing Ivan was impossible. Roand was an intermediate rogue, truly powerful, with extremely fast attacks and mastery of far too many rogue skills.
Jiang Jie knew very well that even if he played every trump card, he might not be a match for Roand unless he caught him by surprise.
There was no hope of defeating Roand in a head-on confrontation unless he made successive breakthroughs and advanced to the Houtian Fourth Layer.
Ivan was drenched in cold sweat, his legs trembling!
He had been brimming with confidence all along. He felt that, having gotten an early start and begun learning rogue skills a month ago, he would surely defeat Jiang Jie.
Yet he had never expected that even with a sneak attack, he was no match for Jiang Jie.
The killing intent Jiang Jie had just revealed, those icy eyes, and the blades gleaming with cold light had truly frightened him.
He knew that if Roand hadn't stopped him, Jiang Jie really would have killed him. He would already have been a corpse!
Fear, and terror at how close he had come!
He trembled all over!
"Nicholas was right. Since you've chosen to become rogues, cast aside all your previous notions. Ivan, your father is a knight of the kingdom, but you aren't. Also, there's one thing you must remember: the Lordaeron Royal Assassins encourage competition, but deaths are absolutely forbidden!"
Roand glanced at Jiang Jie and Ivan, then said coldly, "Now, I'll teach you the most essential rogue skill: Stealth, along with skills that can only be used while stealthed... Ambush, Sap, and several others. These skills are difficult. I'll explain and demonstrate them thoroughly."
Over the next two hours, Roand repeatedly explained and demonstrated them. Because they involved the Plane of Shadows, they were extremely difficult.
Rogues were a class that lurked in the shadows.
A rogue's energy came from their own body and mind. This was internal energy.
In addition, rogues had to use shadow energy to enter Stealth, drawing on the power of the Plane of Shadows to conceal their traces and perform a series of skills.
These skills were far too difficult. Even after two hours of practice, Ivan was still completely unable to enter Stealth.
This was a dividing line.
Only those who could successfully enter Stealth qualified to become full-fledged rogues. Yet most so-called rogues in this world could not sense the Plane of Shadows or use their own energy to harness its power. They remained rogue apprentices all their lives.
Talented as Ivan was, he would still need a month or two to successfully enter Stealth.
Roand had been observing Jiang Jie all along and found that he was merely going through the motions, seemingly doing even worse than Ivan. He knew that expecting someone to learn "Stealth" in just two short hours really was asking too much. It was said that even Master Onias had taken a full ten days to succeed back then.
That speed was even on par with Edwin VanCleef and Mathias Shaw of Stormwind City!
"Ah, it seems no one will be able to claim Master Onias's reward," Roand sighed softly.